Discovering the charm of traditional hutong through Airbnb

Many visitors to Beijing enjoy staying in traditional hutong (alleyways).

The neighborhoods, with narrow stairs, open courtyards and swooping eves hark to olden days at a time when the skyline increasingly sparkles with high rises.

This has inspired some residents like globetrotting documentary director Gu Yue to put his house on the globally popular short-stay homerental platform, Airbnb.